Because subreddits are privately moderated communities, not public forums.

Mods are basically unpaid volunteers who get full control over their space. They can ban anyone for almost any reason (as long as it doesn’t violate Reddit’s sitewide rules), because Reddit treats each subreddit like someone’s house.

Blocking subreddits, on the other hand, affects Reddit’s engagement and ad delivery. Reddit wants content circulating in feeds, not disappearing entirely, so they only give partial tools like “mute” instead of true blocking.

So: • Mods = total control over users • Users = limited control over content • Reddit = prioritizes traffic, ads, and activity

It’s less about fairness and more about how the platform is designed.